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Archivists’ Toolkit

Archivists’ Toolkit. Towards Streamlined Archival Workflow Lee Mandell Kelcy Shepherd Brian Stevens Brad Westbrook. Overview. Project Update Project Objective and Staff First year efforts Goals for second year Prospects beyond the grant period AT Software Specification

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Archivists’ Toolkit

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  1. Archivists’ Toolkit Towards Streamlined Archival Workflow Lee Mandell Kelcy Shepherd Brian Stevens Brad Westbrook Archivists' Toolkit - SAA Annual Meeting, August 20, 2005

  2. Overview • Project Update • Project Objective and Staff • First year efforts • Goals for second year • Prospects beyond the grant period • AT Software Specification • Specification Framework • Specification Modules • Application architecture and technology • Demonstration example Archivists' Toolkit - SAA Annual Meeting, August 20, 2005

  3. Project Objectives • Digital tools to support archival processing in a manner that promotes efficiency and standardization • Focus on core archives functions of accessioning, resource description, subject and name management and application, and resource location • Support outputs such as EAD, EAC, METS, and various administrative reports Archivists' Toolkit - SAA Annual Meeting, August 20, 2005

  4. Project Team • Brian Schottlaender, UCSD, Co-Principal Investigator • Carol Mandel, NYU, Co-Principal Investigator • Brad Westbrook, Proj. Mgr & Spec Team Leader • Lee Mandell, NYU, Design Team Mgr • Kelcy Shepherd, Analyst • Brian Stevens, Analyst • Luc Declerck, UCSD, and David Ackerman, NYU, Administrative Oversight Archivists' Toolkit - SAA Annual Meeting, August 20, 2005

  5. Project Advisory Board • Robin Chandler, CDL • Michael Fox, MHS • Merrilee Proffitt, RLG • Richard Szary, Yale • Guenter Waibel, RLG • Beth Yakel, U Mich Archivists' Toolkit - SAA Annual Meeting, August 20, 2005

  6. Project Partners • Bates College • Five Colleges: Amherst College Archives and Special Collections, Hampshire College Archives, Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections, Smith College Archives & Sophia Smith Collection, & UMass-Amherst, Special Collections and Archives • NYC: The American Museum of Natural History, The Brooklyn Museum of Art, Carnegie Hall, The Center for Jewish History, & Manhattan College • NYU: Fales Library, Tamiment Library, University Archives • UCSD: Mandeville Special Collections & SIO Archives Archivists' Toolkit - SAA Annual Meeting, August 20, 2005

  7. First Year Accomplishments • Functional Requirements Identified • Application Specification Composed • Design Team Manager Hired Archivists' Toolkit - SAA Annual Meeting, August 20, 2005

  8. Goals for Second Year • Build Prototype from AT Specification • Interface Design • Compose User Documentation • User Manual • Application Help Module • Installation Scripts • Test Application and Documentation • Functional Testing • Usability Testing • Formulate Business Plan • Release Tested Application Archivists' Toolkit - SAA Annual Meeting, August 20, 2005

  9. Prospects Beyond the Grant Period • Modular Design Architecture in Open Source Software • Possible Extensions include • More Robust Collection Management Module • Additional Tools to Support Ingest of Local Data • Extended Digital Object (Surrogate) Module • User Registration / Resource Use Module • Shared Development Archivists' Toolkit - SAA Annual Meeting, August 20, 2005

  10. Application Overview Brian StevensNew York University Archivists' Toolkit - SAA Annual Meeting, August 20, 2005

  11. Pieces Included in the Specification Overview • General Description • Product context • Software system • Context diagram • Application diagram • Software system attributes • Installation requirements • Performance requirements • Design constraints • Other requirements • User characteristics • Task list • Data flow diagram • Data dictionary Archivists' Toolkit - SAA Annual Meeting, August 20, 2005

  12. General Description • Problem Statement • Purpose of the Software Specification • Scope of the Archivists’ Toolkit • Glossary • Data Dictionary • References • Acknowledgements Archivists' Toolkit - SAA Annual Meeting, August 20, 2005

  13. The Toolkit Functions • integrate key functions in the archival descriptive cycle • ingest extant metadata about collections in the form of EAD finding aids and MARC records • use a relational database management system with Java Swing client user interface • be deployable in a range of archival repositories Archivists' Toolkit - SAA Annual Meeting, August 20, 2005

  14. Design Overview • Administration/Project Management • Ingest • Accession • Location • Names • Subjects • Audit • Search • Description Archivists' Toolkit - SAA Annual Meeting, August 20, 2005

  15. Task List • Prerequisites • Installation • Application / Project Management • Manage Records • Audit Trail • Record Navigation • Generate Report • Search Database Archivists' Toolkit - SAA Annual Meeting, August 20, 2005

  16. Application Software System • Software system attributes • Installation requirements • Performance requirements • Design constraints • Other requirements Archivists' Toolkit - SAA Annual Meeting, August 20, 2005

  17. Archivists' Toolkit - SAA Annual Meeting, August 20, 2005

  18. Archivists' Toolkit - SAA Annual Meeting, August 20, 2005

  19. Archivists' Toolkit - SAA Annual Meeting, August 20, 2005

  20. Functional Modules Kelcy Shepherd Five Colleges Archivists' Toolkit - SAA Annual Meeting, August 20, 2005

  21. Application/Project Management • Establish repository record • Manage users • Customize default fields, required fields, input forms • Create project definitions Archivists' Toolkit - SAA Annual Meeting, August 20, 2005

  22. Ingest Module • EAD version 1.0 and 2002 (XML) • MARC XML Archivists' Toolkit - SAA Annual Meeting, August 20, 2005

  23. Accession Module • Preliminary descriptive information • Some collection management fields • Descriptive and administrative outputs: • Accession record • Accession receipt • Acquisitions report • Processing reports • More… Archivists' Toolkit - SAA Annual Meeting, August 20, 2005

  24. Description Module • Archival resources and surrogates • Inputs based on DACS, ISAD(G) • Outputs: • MARC XML • MODS • Printed finding aids • More… • EAD • METS • Dublin Core • Collections guide Archivists' Toolkit - SAA Annual Meeting, August 20, 2005

  25. Location Module • For tracking “permanent” locations • Accommodate a range of practice • Outputs: • Location record • Shelf list • List of all locations for a resource Archivists' Toolkit - SAA Annual Meeting, August 20, 2005

  26. Names Module • Authority control for names (personal, family, and corporate/conference) • Includes fields for contact information, biographical/historical note • Supports see also and see references • Outputs: • Source record • Sources list • EAC record Archivists' Toolkit - SAA Annual Meeting, August 20, 2005

  27. Subject Module • Basic authority control for subjects • Can create records in advance or on an as-needed basis • Outputs: • Repository subject guide Archivists' Toolkit - SAA Annual Meeting, August 20, 2005

  28. Audit Tracking • Uniquely identifies each record • Allows repository to track creation and editing of records Archivists' Toolkit - SAA Annual Meeting, August 20, 2005

  29. Search Module • For moderated use in reference setting • Features: • Search for resource by resource ID, title, creator, or subject • Search for resources, resource components, surrogates, and surrogate components by keywords in title • Search for locations by resource ID Archivists' Toolkit - SAA Annual Meeting, August 20, 2005

  30. Archivists’ Toolkit: Application Architecture and Technology Lee Mandell, Design Team Manager Archivists' Toolkit - SAA Annual Meeting, August 20, 2005

  31. Back End (database) • Developed with mySQL • Will work with many SQL databases both open source and commercial • Partial list: DB2, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle, Sybase, Microsoft SQL Server, Informix, Ingres ... • Why SQL and not other technologies like xml and object databases? • Maturity of SQL databases • Likelihood of local IT departments having SQL expertise • Many existing open source projects to integrate into the projects. Archivists' Toolkit - SAA Annual Meeting, August 20, 2005

  32. Front End (Client) • Needs: Cross platform (Mac OSX, Windows 98+, Linux), open source, sophisticated user interface capabilities • Solution: Java desktop client • Many more user interface options than a web based client • Will run on any computer with Java 5 (1.5) installed • Client and database can be installed on the same computer or on different computers. • Single machine configuration • Local network configuration • Wide area network configuration Archivists' Toolkit - SAA Annual Meeting, August 20, 2005

  33. Open Source • SourceForge • Project will be listed by the end of the year. • Source code will be available in an early alpha version early next year for viewing only • When we enter beta testing we will be open to other developers joining the effort • Anyone will be able to download the source code and use it as they wish. • We hope a developer community will grow out of the project Archivists' Toolkit - SAA Annual Meeting, August 20, 2005

  34. The Great Divideor in technical termsThe Paradigm Mismatch Java Object Oriented Programming Language SQL Relational Database Archivists' Toolkit - SAA Annual Meeting, August 20, 2005

  35. HibernateA persistence layer • An open source project to bridge the differences between Java and relational databases • Saves us from rolling our own • Allows easy swapping of back end databases Archivists' Toolkit - SAA Annual Meeting, August 20, 2005

  36. A Live Demonstration Archivists' Toolkit - SAA Annual Meeting, August 20, 2005

  37. http://archiviststoolkit.org/ Archivists' Toolkit - SAA Annual Meeting, August 20, 2005

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